{"id":4838,"date":"2026-07-21T17:51:33","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T17:51:33","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T17:51:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T17:51:33","slug":"meet-the-catalyst-2026-finalists-empower-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/news\/meet-the-catalyst-2026-finalists-empower-work","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Catalyst 2026 Finalists: Empower Work"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[15,14],"class_list":["post-4838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-catalyst","tag-social-entrepreneurship"],"acf":{"header":{"copy":"","hero_image":false,"hero_image_treatment":"cover","video":false,"inversed":false,"members_only":false},"premium_image":false,"author":{"team_member":false,"name":"","title":"","image":false,"has_second_author":false,"second_author":false,"second_author_name":"","second_author_title":"","second_author_image":false},"caption":"","youtube_id":"","image":false,"components":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

After Jaime\u2011Alexis Fowler experienced a gut\u2011punch moment early in her career, she felt alone in the workplace and didn\u2019t know where to turn for support. It was clear to her there was a gap in resources for employees facing similar workplace struggles.<\/p>\n

That experience drove her to create a solution that could scale nationally to help workers navigate challenges and stay on a path toward economic opportunity. She turned to wireless technology to launch Empower Work<\/a>, a free SMS platform delivering peer counseling to workers when they need it most.<\/p>\n","show_glossary":false,"glossary":null,"show_infographic":false,"infographic":null,"show_document":false,"document":null,"show_video":false,"video_caption":"","video_youtube_id":"","video_image":false,"show_image":false,"sidebar_image":false,"sidebar_image_caption":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"

Through text, workers can access a trained peer counselor for coaching related to hurdles such as job loss, burnout, unsafe working conditions and more. Empower Work comes alongside workers in their most challenging moments to provide practical resources and emotional support.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Traditional workforce development options often fail in one or more dimensions. Career counselors are cost-prohibitive and inaccessible, government workforce resources are fragmented and slow, and crisis mental health services rarely address the workplace-specific challenges that are driving the crisis in the first place. Empower Work fills this gap through an approach that is immediate, human-centered, and delivered through a tool nearly every worker already has: their phone.<\/p>\n

Empower Work is leveraging AI to enhance human connection. Their counselor-facing AI assistant offers real-time guidance, suggests relevant resources, and helps summarize sessions so counselors can re-engage seamlessly over time. This allows Empower Work to keep its work deeply human while using technology to enhance effectiveness and scale impact.<\/p>\n","show_glossary":false,"glossary":null,"show_infographic":false,"infographic":null,"show_document":false,"document":null,"show_video":false,"video_caption":"","video_youtube_id":"","video_image":false,"show_image":false,"sidebar_image":false,"sidebar_image_caption":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"quote","text":"Mobile-first technology is crucial to Empower Work's solution because it meets the workers we serve where they are. Their phone isn't a convenience; it's their portal to support. Wireless technology makes it possible to deliver real-time, human-centered guidance exactly when a vulnerable worker needs it most: between shifts, before a hard conversation, in the middle of a crisis.","name":"Jaime-Alexis Fowler, Empower Work Founder & CEO ","source":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":"

Since its founding, Empower Work has supported more than half a million workers. Their model shows that peer counseling creates space for action, action leads to career moves, and career moves drive real financial gains. Approximately 90% of help\u2011seekers report improved mental health, and 80% report improved economic well-being.<\/p>\n

If you need support in the workplace, use Empower Work by texting 510-674-1414 to contact a trained peer counselor. We are excited to recognize Empower Work as a Catalyst<\/a> 2026 finalist!<\/p>\n","show_glossary":false,"glossary":null,"show_infographic":false,"infographic":null,"show_document":false,"document":null,"show_video":false,"video_caption":"","video_youtube_id":"","video_image":false,"show_image":false,"sidebar_image":false,"sidebar_image_caption":""}],"url":"meet-the-catalyst-2026-finalists-empower-work","meta_title":"","meta_keywords":"","meta_description":"","footer":[{"acf_fc_layout":"learn_more","heading":"Catalyst","copy":"A grants program for ambitious social entrepreneurs using the power of 5G and leading edge wireless technologies.","button":"Learn More","link":"https:\/\/www.wirelessfoundation.org\/catalyst"},{"acf_fc_layout":"related","related":[{"ID":4791,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2026-06-09 13:44:47","post_date_gmt":"2026-06-09 13:44:47","post_content":"","post_title":"Introducing our Catalyst 2026 Finalists","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"introducing-our-catalyst-2026-finalists","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2026-06-09 15:47:57","post_modified_gmt":"2026-06-09 15:47:57","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"\/news\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":4788,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2026-06-09 13:44:35","post_date_gmt":"2026-06-09 13:44:35","post_content":"","post_title":"CTIA Wireless Foundation Announces Finalists in Catalyst 2026 Grant Program","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"ctia-wireless-foundation-announces-finalists-in-catalyst-2026-grant-program","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2026-06-09 13:44:35","post_modified_gmt":"2026-06-09 13:44:35","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"\/news\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":4825,"post_author":"21","post_date":"2026-07-08 14:07:34","post_date_gmt":"2026-07-08 14:07:34","post_content":"","post_title":"Meet the Catalyst 2026 Finalists: Cope Notes","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"meet-the-catalyst-2026-finalists-cope-notes","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2026-07-08 14:07:34","post_modified_gmt":"2026-07-08 14:07:34","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"\/news\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}]}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4838"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4854,"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4838\/revisions\/4854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/api.wirelessfoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}